Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 4, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 4, 2002
Start: 2002-07-04T17:45
End: 2002-07-04T17:45
Location: Tennessee

July 4, 2002 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Numerous trees and limbs were downed on power lines and elsewhere across the county including a large tree which fell on a storage shed at 520 Freeman Avenue.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

Numerous trees and limbs were downed on power lines and elsewhere across the county including a large tree which fell on a storage shed at 520 Freeman Avenue.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 1:43 PM EST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:43 PM EST, 4 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
243 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

RADAR SHOWS SCATTERED CONVECTION FIRING ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST
TENNESSEE/SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA THIS AFTERNOON. AIRMASS ACROSS THE
FAR NORTHEAST COUNTIES ARE VERY UNSTABLE WITH LIFTED INDICES
AT OR BELOW -10...PER MSAS.  SLIGHTLY DRIER DEWPOINTS AND
LOWER TEMPS (DUE TO MORNING CLOUDS) OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
VALLEY HAVE LIMITED INSTABILITY THERE SO FAR.  I EXPECT STORMS
TO CONTINUE TO BUILD AND MOVE SLOWLY WEST SOUTHWEST...SIMILAR
TO YDAS. DUE TO HIGH K-INDICES AND HIGH CAPES/LIS...MAIN
THREAT WILL BE TORRENTIAL RAINS...MARGINAL SEVERE HAIL AND
STRONG DOWNBURSTS WINDS.

WILL CALL FOR BEST COVERAGE THIS EVENING FOR NORTHEAST AND
ALONG AND FAR EASTERN TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS. AFTER LOSS OF DAYTIME
HEATING...ACTIVITY WILL GIVE WAY TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKY AND PATCHY
FOG.

MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH RETROGRADING UPPER RIDGE OVER THE
OHIO VALLEY WEST AS UPPER TROUGH ESTABLISHES ITSELF OVER THE
NORTHEAST/MID-ATLANTIC STATES. THIS TROUGH WILL ALLOW A FRONT
TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN FORECAST AREA LATE FRIDAY THEN MOVE
TO NEAR CHA BY SATURDAY MORNING. AIRMASS WILL REMAIN QUITE
UNSTABLE AHEAD OF FRONT WITH THETA-E RIDGE AXIS OVER THE AREA
TOMORROW AFTERNOON. WILL ONLY CALL FOR SCATTERED CONVECTION
SINCE CONVERGENCE ALONG AND AHEAD OF FRONT IS WEAK AND NO UPPER
SUPPORT NOTED. CONVECTION WILL MAINLY BE AFTERNOON/EVENING
VARIETY GIVEN LACK OF UPPER DYNAMICS.

FOR SATURDAY...MODELS SHOW THETA-E RIDGE AXIS REMAINING CLOSE
ENOUGH TO SOUTHERN THIRD AND FAR EASTERN TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS TO
WARRANT CONTINUED CHANCE OF AFTERNOON STORMS.  ELSEWHERE...
SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR WILL BE THE RULE WITH MOSTLY SUNNY/PARTLY CLOUDY
SKY.

LONG-RANGE...EXPECT A FRONT TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA WED WITH
SLIGHTLY COOLER AND DRIER AIR FINALLY MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE GREAT
VALLEY.  WOULD NOT BE TERRIBLY SURPRISED TO SEE IT HOLD OFF TIL THU
THOUGH, BASED ON PAST MODEL PERFORMANCE IN TIMING.

FCSTID =
CHA   69  94  71  91 /  30  30  30  30
TYS   69  92  70  90 /  30  40  30  10
TRI   63  90  64  87 /  30  40  30   0
OQT   69  93  69  90 /  30  40  30  10

.MRX...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

DH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 4, 3:35 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
435 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0430 PM    VALLEY FORGE              TN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   CARTER                         DIME SIZE HAIL AT VALLEY
                                          FORGE. REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:04 PM EST, 1 hour 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
504 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0442 PM    2 N ROSEDALE              VA   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   RUSSELL                        GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL
                                          REPORTED 2 MILES NORTH OF
                                          ROSDALE. REPORTED BY
                                          DISPATCH.

0445 PM    POWDER BRANCH             TN   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CARTER                         SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN
                                          POWDER BRANCH AREA.
                                          REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

GRC

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:25 PM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
525 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0505 PM    PINEY FLATS               TN   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   SULLIVAN                       NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AT
                                          PINEY FLATS AND BLUFF CITY.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

0511 PM    GREY                      TN   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN AND
                                          AROUND GREY. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT.

GM

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:40 PM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
540 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0630 PM    NEVA                      TN   FLASH FLOODS
07/04/02   JOHNSON                        WATER RUNNING ACROSS
                                          HIGHWAY 167 NEAR NEVA.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

GM

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cocke

When: July 4, 5:45 PM EST
Where: Cocke County, Newport
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.950, -83.183

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, July 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5309007.